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The interaction between medical providers and patients has been really compromised over the last few years.

According to Dr. Eric Topol ( as in his new book The Patient Will See You Now), in the US, the average return visit to the doctors office lasts seven minutes and a new consultation twelve minutes”. Administrative requirements, reimbursement rules, government regulations and the inadequate use of technology, are among the factors to blame for this decline in the quality of medical care, at least in respect to the HUMAN quality of healthcare.

We have allowed technology to sequester what it meant to be a doctor, a healer-person connecting with the one seeking our help, our advice, our touch; a direct eye-to-eye link that could comfort and bring relief just by the mere act of taking the time to do it.

The SMART use of the RIGHT technology, can indeed improve the process, enhance the time and the interaction, paradoxically making us more, better HUMAN healers.

That’s one of the things that Google Glass can do in medicine.

Wearable devices, and specifically GoogleGlass, has started a tide of change and innovation, a true awakening of the minds, that only can be viewed as a major success, at least in that respect.

As a surgeon and innovator, the FIRST one to ever use Glass in the operating room, and NOT the only surgeon excited about this technology, I see this trend as the beginning of a new way to do medicine.

This is the recent (several weeks ago-), four part interview at mHealthNews at the HIMSS Portland, Me office.

I had the privilege to spend some time sharing insights about my experience with GoogleGlass in medicine, the early accomplishments, the first surgery performed using the platform, its current state, advantages and limitations, future changes and, more importantly, why does It matter for healthcare and medical education.

As the first step for a head mounted computer, with many of the capacities of a smartphone and more, Glass really represents a breakthrough in technology and the expansion of our vision on its use to improve what we do as medical providers and educators. Obviously, it is not a perfect device YET, but a first edition, with several upgrades already, that broke ground in order to place a computing-communication platform and a camera in front of our line of vision, allowing us to get and to share information for a particular purpose.Never before, have such a device, of its size and capabilities been made available to the general and specialized consumer.

Its release in 2013, really shocked the interest in many but, more importantly, ignited the imagination of hundreds of developers, entrepreneurs and professionals in a way rarely seen before, It certainly opened the eyes of those who wanted to have a new or a better, smarter way to use technology for the benefit of mankind.

How I began my journey… my involvement with TEDx, Singularity University-Exponential Medicine, Twitter, Blogging, Doctors2.o, Stanford’s MedicineX and Google Glass up to the its first use in the operating room and beyond…

Glass potential in Healthcare and Medical Education is only limited by our creativity and imagination…

How about the patients? Do they care about privacy? “Better Cured than SeCured”, Denise Silber @Doctors2.0

To Err is Human, but 400,000 deaths per year, due to preventable medical errors… is way too many deaths. Forty Wrong Site Surgery, per week, despite checklists and “Time-Out’s” before starting any surgical case in the US.

Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning Systems…Imagine Google Now for Healthcare!

And…What’s next with Google Glass? A wearable device created to augment your abilities , specifically, as needed, depending on your line of work or interest. Faster, with more capacity, better battery life, easier connectivity, leaner and less obtrusive or obvious on your face and, likely, less expensive.

I do believe that eventually the wearable device will be less “wearable” and more “part-of-you”. A true Health machine.

That device will also be more omnipotent, not just obtaining and self-measuring standard variables (think heart rate, respirations, brain activity, blood pressure, oxygen content, etc.), but also with the capacity to use your own data to correct deficiencies, alert of imminent changes in your physiology (predict a stroke or a heart attack!)…to HEAL Thyself!

Or did it actually represent the beginning of a revolution, the evolution of transportation?

You see, lately, there has been a lot of press regarding the demise of GoogleGlass. A few articles have explained that the time of Glass has passed, that developers are not interested anymore, that units are for sale in eBay.

Some have called it “the Segway of this era!”. I have read most of those editorials and releases. I have to say that I don’t agree with the basic premise of GoogleGlass being a failure.

As any new step, the first one is always shy and careful…Glass represents the next generation, the beginning of the future for the wearable device. Again, the beginning of a revolution, the evolution of the computing and communication platform. It was not invented in a day!

As a “pioneer” device, a “pseudo-beta” product ( a ready-product, not ready for the general public but instead for a very select group of skilled individuals in specific disciplines), Glass has awaken the imagination and creativity of the technologic community, the industry and the geeks out there.

I think that we all like he idea of having a “wearable” device in our forehead, as part of us, almost integrated with our selves, able to allow us to stay connected in the ways that we need or like, to perform our specific tasks more efficiently.

Glass has done that. It has shown that it is possible, and that the road to an ideal and trouble-free device is still being travelled.

Yes, we all agree that GoogleGlass is not perfect, in fact, it is far from it.

But we all remember the amazement of the first time when we saw the screen projected in front of our eye, and the awesomeness of navigating a menu with our voice, or listening to it without a headphone.

We all concur that the battery is poor, the connectivity slow, the voice recognition fair to good, the heating issues feel wrong and that for the day-to-day routine, is definitively not ready…but that’s not the point.

Glass represents the leap to something better, to a way of not texting with our fat fingers, bending our neck down to a screen or bringing a hand up to our ears. A way to look up and tap into vast human knowledge, available in the internet, just by talking aloud.

Glass will allow us to stand up again (like humans do), to speak our commands, to look directly at the eyes of our patients, not turning our backs to them looking at the other screen, or typing orders in.

If anything, it will allow us to connect in a more direct, personal and human way, in those times when we have to use technology.

“Google Glass broke through that mental block, and got doctors to rethink the big clunky computers in our offices… that maybe it would make for a better bedside relationship if we turned away from those computers and got close to our patients again,” Siddiqui said. “…And what’s great is, now that doctors are thinking that way, it’s not about Google Glass anymore.”

I trust that Google is working in the next generation of Glass, and I know that it will be better, and that the feedback and outcries of those with and without faith will be addressed in that next device.We will be surprised.

This is the reason why despite having negative testing for Ebola, high risk-individuals should still be very vigilant of their symptoms, so that if they become symptomatic they then avoid ANY risky contact with the public ( self-imposed or forced-quarantine ).

In other words, the PCR test is VERY GOOD, it detects even minute amounts of the virus in the blood stream, IF IT IS INDEED PRESENT in the blood stream!

The problem is that the virus might be present in the body ( meaning that the person is infected) BUT NOT PRESENT in the blood YET, so the test will be negative, even though the person is still infected.

Once the disease advances, the person becomes symptomatic and the virus is released from organs like the spleen and liver, to the blood stream. That is why the patient is not really contagious-thru bodily fluids ( blood, saliva, etc.) until later in the course of the infection.

So if you have been in contact with Ebola patients, meaning that you have a high chance of being infected, even when the PCR test has ben negative, early in the course of the risk period, you need to be very careful to monitor yourself (or be monitored) for symptoms of the disease, so that if the symptoms appear, you can isolate yourself ( or be isolated) until you test negative again.

The recent news about the Ebola epidemic are really catching the world’s attention, and I feel that it is important to keep updating this post about this most important, life-threatening topic.

I’m not an Infectologist. I’m not an Epidemiologist either. I’m just a Surgeon.

Like many healthcare professionals, I have been thinking about it for several weeks. In my particular case, I’m extremely alarmed and do worry that this current epidemic, will spread fast and take an enormous toll on its way to be eventually defeated.

FACTS: It is a virus, basically (RNA) protein that infects a host (in our case, humans) and replicates quickly, overwhelming the bodies capabilities to fight it. It attacks, among several targets, the lining of blood vessels (endothelium) and organs like the liver…

Like this:

Almost all that we learned in medical school, is now potentially outdated or obsolete. The way we now teach medicine, prevent disease and care for patients has radically changed in many forms. We have been living the evolution of healthcare, the revolution, the change of paradigm…

It was a very early prototype, I thought, but immediately realized its future in medicine, visualizing “Virtual Telemedicine” consultations, in front of a 3D– digital provider in a virtual reality (VR) office. Imagine the potential of this use to extend the reach of over-sought, already in shortage, medical personnel. To be able to provide medical advise, immediately, remotely, no matter the physical location, as long as there’s connectivity. That’s the closest you can get to a physical interaction, when that form of interaction is not possible or necessary.

Then it came Google Glass. As a very early Explorer, I performed the first operation ever documented with this device

Simple and simply, intuitively improving connectivity and communication between surgeon and an audience, to proof the point that this new gadget was really one of many wearables in the horizon, representing “The Natural Evolution” of the computing platform.

In the matter of months, quicker than we can dream or assimilate, we are once again presented with exponential advancements in technology. Exponentially smart ideas about how to use technology to improve the way we provide healthcare or teach medicine.

In the video below, you can appreciate how medical education could certainly be delivered in “the future”.

The video was published in September, 2013, telling us about technology leaps to happen around the year 2033.

Well, nice video, but TOO LATE. It is only 2014, and that technology is HERE NOW.

Check out RealView Imaging. “Interactive Live Holography, from Science Fiction to Science Fact”.

This is a reality now, and has the potential to revolutionize medical education and medical care. Providing interactive, virtually Real, 3D images of anything, allowing physicians to SEE better, to learn better, plan better, to deliver better care.

Yesterday I spoke with the team behind the next generation of smart glasses. An amazing development, augmenting every aspect of what it is currently available.

Once again, I really want to send a public note of appreciation to Maine Magazine (@Themainemag), for their recent article about my work. I think that Sophie Nelson (writer) and Nicole Wolf (photography) are amazing professionals that really represent some of the incredible talents that Maine has to offer.

I humbly want to thank them for their comments and views, and for helping spread some of my vision and passion regarding the potential for innovation technology in healthcare and education.